CS Challenger: Gamifying the Learning of Computer Science Concepts through a Mobile Application Platform

Abstract

There is a huge dropout rate among Computer Science students at the University of Namibia (UNAM). This can be attributed to the lack of engaging methods for learning both basic and advanced computational concepts. Despite gamification concepts in learning discussed in the literature, no study addresses the modules with very high failure rates among Computer Science students at UNAM using the concept of gamification. The purpose of this paper was to present the design, development, and evaluation of CS Challenger. CS Challenger is a mobile application which was developed to motivate students through interactive gaming techniques to facilitate rewards and rankings. For the first time in the Namibian context, a contextualised mobile app was developed to gamify the concepts of five modules offered to Computer Science students at UNAM. The results from the evaluation suggest that CS Challenger provides a motivating environment in which students can quickly grasp the concept of a subject. The findings of the study are expected to inform managers in education in Namibia on alternative means of providing gamified learning content to students.